Toronto Maple Leafs star Auston Matthews has been suspended two games for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin during Sunday's contest, the NHL's Department of Player Safety announced Monday.

The incident occurred during the third period of the Maple Leafs' 5-2 defeat at the Heritage Classic. Matthews cross-checked Dahlin in the neck area as the pair got in a dustup in the Sabres' crease.

Matthews and Dahlin were each assessed a minor penalty for cross-checking on the play. Dahlin was able to stay in the contest.

While acknowledging that Matthews didn't intend to injure Dahlin, the Department of Player Safety posited that his actions aren't typically used as a routine way to gain body position over an opponent.

The league also argued that the retaliatory force Matthews used warranted the supplementary discipline even though the 24-year-old had never been fined or suspended in his NHL career up until now.

"You're just battling in front of the net," Matthews said after the game, according to ESPN's Kristen Shilton. "I felt like I kind of rode up his shoulder and his shoulder pack rolled up a little bit. That's hockey; you're competing out there."

Matthews will forfeit $116,402.50 in salary as a result of the suspension.

The Maple Leafs will now be without their leading scorer against the Dallas Stars on Tuesday and the Carolina Hurricanes on Thursday.

Matthews paces all NHL skaters with 45 goals in 56 games. He was a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy in each of the past two campaigns.

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Amid a four-game losing streak and a 4-9-1 slide since Jack Eichel's highly anticipated debut, Vegas Golden Knights forward Chandler Stephenson has seen enough.

"There's not much to say," Stephenson said, according to The Athletic's Jesse Granger. "It's the same old story until we can figure it out, and it's a big enough reality check. I'd think guys would be woken up by now."

Stephenson added: "I'm sick of it. I think everybody is sick of it. So, until we figure it out, I don't know. Everybody has to dig deeper, grab their nuts, and just work. That's the bottom line."

Vegas is dealing with injuries to several key players, including captain Mark Stone and starting goaltender Robin Lehner. The team is virtually out of the Pacific Division race and is clinging to a one-point lead over the Dallas Stars for the second Western Conference wild-card spot with four extra games played.

The Golden Knights return to action Tuesday against the Winnipeg Jets.

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The 2022 Stanley Cup Playoffs are less than two months away. While it's likely a team +1600 or shorter ultimately gets its hand on the trophy, there are still a few dark horse sides with potential.

Let's take a look at three long shots - to varying degrees - that could surprise when the tournament begins.

Boston Bruins (+2000)

There's too much meat on the bone here for a team with so much high-end talent and experience. I know they have to get through a ridiculously tough Atlantic Division bracket to have any shot at a trophy, but crazier things have happened. This team is extremely well-rounded.

Offensively, they seem to be hitting their stride. Jake DeBrusk has held up his end of the bargain on the top line, which has allowed the Bruins to pair Taylor Hall and David Pastrnak on the second unit. That essentially gives them two top lines. Craig Smith and Charlie Coyle spearhead a solid third line as well, which has been especially hot of late.

Boston's team defense is remarkably good; no team in the league has conceded high-danger chances at a lesser rate during five-on-five play. They're also stout on the penalty kill.

When all else fails, they can be comfortable relying on Jeremy Swayman between the pipes. The 23-year-old has established himself as the team's No. 1 option in goal, and not just because Linus Ullmark has been inconsistent. Swayman owns a rock-solid .926 save percentage and sits eighth among starters in goals saved above expected per start.

This team is above average in every area of the game and they're battle-tested. If they can add another piece or two at the deadline, they'll be an extremely difficult side for any team to out.

Washington Capitals (+2700)

The Capitals have stumbled a bit of late. I wouldn't be quick to write them off, though.

They are 12th in the NHL in points percentage despite the fact they've spent very little of the season anywhere close to full health. Nicklas Backstrom has appeared in 27 of 60 games, T.J. Oshie has appeared in 26, and Anthony Mantha has dressed just 15 times. The Capitals haven't had one member of the second line healthy for even half of their games, let alone all three.

Not only have the absences of those players impacted the Capitals at five-on-five, but they've taken some jolt out of the power play. It can't be overstated how important it is to have them healthy.

Dating back to last season, they've helped the Capitals control better than 52% of the expected goal share at five-on-five. Backstrom and Oshie, in particular, really help out on the power play as well.

I think we're going to see a different Capitals team now that they're healthy again. There are also rumblings they're eying a Calle Jarnkrok-type forward at the deadline, which would provide some much-needed depth on the third line.

I'm not saying the Capitals are world-beaters or that they can match some of the other big-name teams. However, they do have a very good top six and a healthy power play, while Vitek Vanecek has quietly given the Capitals fantastic goaltending of late. They have the pieces to cause some problems in the playoffs.

Washington also figures to benefit from an easier path to the conference finals. With respect to the Pittsburgh Penguins, Carolina Hurricanes, and New York Rangers, the Caps have a better chance of getting through that group than the bracket featuring the Tampa Bay Lightning, Florida Panthers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Bruins.

Los Angeles Kings (+3500)

The Los Angeles Kings are going through a bit of a tough spell right now. Drew Doughty, Viktor Arvidsson, Matt Roy, Dustin Brown, Mikey Anderson, and Andreas Athanasiou, among others, are out of the lineup with varying timelines to return.

If the Kings can get most of those guys back by the playoffs, the Kings have sneaky potential. Hear me out.

They are a fantastic five-on-five team. They rank fourth in the NHL in shot share, sixth in expected goals share, and eighth in terms of high-danger chances. Whichever metric you prefer, the Kings grade out highly. That's important, especially because officials tend to put the whistles away come playoff time. A lot of each game is played at full strength and the Kings are at their best in that game state.

Anze Kopitar spearheads a very good top line while Arvidsson, Phillip Danault, and Trevor Moore have combined to create a shockingly good second unit. Los Angeles has controlled ~59% of the shot attempts, 61% of the expected goals, and ~63% of the actual goals with that trio on the ice. Suffice to say, the Kings' top six is a problem.

They're also a great defensive team. While the goaltending hasn't been as good of late, Jonathan Quick and Cal Petersen have both taken the ball and run with it at different points of the season. There's reason to believe they can be stable enough when the chips are down.

This team doesn't have much flash or appeal to the average observer. But they're solid and, outside of the Calgary Flames, every team in their division appears flawed. They could cause some headaches in the coming months.

Todd Cordell is a sports betting writer at theScore. Be sure to follow him on Twitter @ToddCordell.

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What home ice is worth is a tough enough question, but it becomes even more of a guessing game when the contest is being played at a neutral site in the middle of a CFL field. The Buffalo Sabres were the host team in Sunday's Heritage Classic despite playing in the home country of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Did it matter in the end, though? They beat the Leafs anyway.

As for our bi-weekly list of moneyline prices we'd be willing to bet, underdogs were the order of the day Sunday as we went 5-1 for better than seven units.

The Montreal Canadiens, tantalizingly priced throughout this season, were overvalued when they opened as favorites to the Seattle Kraken. Sure enough, the Kraken came away with the win, penalizing anyone getting overly excited about the Habs' recent run of good play.

Elsewhere, the Penguins, Islanders (twice), Devils, and Canucks joined the ranks of rare valuable favorites in the past three days. The first three won in that role. Vancouver didn't.

Finally, the market's souring on the Oilers caused them to again find their way onto our betting card. For the second straight time, Edmonton rewarded its backers with a win as a home underdog, this time against the Lightning. However, the Oilers' foray into underrated territory might have come and gone.

Strangely, there's just one game on the board for Monday night - a fairly priced barn burner between the Coyotes and the Senators. But with three more weeknights of games, there'll be other opportunities to find value. A night off never hurt anyone.

The recipe

Before the 2021-22 campaign, we devised a three-part series on how to use the regular-season point-total market to create team ratings, how to interpret home-ice advantage, and then how to use those to create your own moneylines.

We made a small adjustment to our formula last week, moving this season's on-ice predictive metrics to 75% of our total rating. While our ratings are weighted to this season, basing 25% of the ratings on preseason "priors" allows us to place more emphasis on team metrics without going all-in on what's happened this campaign. That's important because this season is still a relatively small sample size that includes some tainted results from when COVID-19 ravaged lineups.

The stabilization of rosters at the All-Star break has meant that underdogs, or favorites that aren't favored by enough, are priced that way because of less quantifiable reasons, like public perception or short-term variance. So, it shouldn't be a surprise that our guide is up nearly 30 units despite a 66-80 record. A 45.2% win rate is just fine when the vast majority of plays are on plus-money pups.

The cheat sheet

What follows is my fair price on the matchups (true moneyline) and the moneyline price I would need to bet either side. I just need a 1% edge for a favorite if we're getting better than a fair price on the team more likely to win. For the underdog, I'll need 4% or better to make it a bet. On games I've projected to be a near coin flip, a 2.5% edge is enough to make it a worthwhile wager. I also have a 5% win probability consideration for a side playing in the second game of a back-to-back with travel and 3% for without travel.

Matt Russell is a betting writer for theScore. If there’s a bad beat to be had, Matt will find it. Find him on Twitter @mrussauthentic.

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After yet another embarrassing late-game collapse, Philadelphia Flyers captain Claude Giroux was unflinchingly honest about his team's season.

"It's been probably the worst year since (I've been) here," Giroux told reporters after Philadelphia's 4-3 loss to the Montreal Canadiens. "It's been a tough year. Obviously, a lot of injuries, but I'm not going to start making excuses. It's been a long year."

He added: "There's still some meetings and some things to talk about with the management and see what the game plan is, not just for this year, but for the future."

The Flyers have an 18-30-11 record this season after winning six of their first 10 games.

As a result, Giroux, who's a pending unrestricted free agent, is one of the top available names ahead of the March 21 trade deadline. The 34-year-old has registered 18 goals and 24 assists in 56 games while playing out the final season of an eight-year deal with an average annual value of $8.275 million.

Despite recording his 900th point in his 999th career NHL game Sunday, Giroux's achievements were quickly overshadowed.

The Flyers held a 3-2 lead late in the third period when Canadiens defenseman Chris Wideman took an interference penalty. The Habs then tied the game with a shorthanded tally with just over 40 seconds left in the game before forward Cole Caufield delivered the final dagger in overtime.

"We're gonna have to keep finding ways to get players to understand that you can play the way you want to play, or you can play winning hockey," interim head coach Mike Yeo said postgame. "Again, I think there were things that you can look at. Our defensive game is getting better, blah, blah, blah, that's nice. That's what you have to do. That's what you’re supposed to do.

"And there's a way to play with the puck where you're not turning it over and giving free ice and giving freebies to a team that obviously has skill. We still refuse to do that."

Yeo added that he's willing to take players' ice time away, demote them to the fourth line, or scratch them entirely, including veterans, in order to get his message across.

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In the back half of 2020, as leagues adapted to the pandemic, they shortened their regular seasons and took radical steps to slash travel. NHL teams started meeting consecutive times in the same city. Baseball's AL East squads only faced divisional opponents and the NL East. The NFL canceled its international games, including four in London.

The point was to minimize player exposure to COVID-19, but Seth Wynes detected a different benefit; sports' cutback on chartered flights was good for the environment.

Wynes, a geographer at Concordia University in Montreal, researches climate change mitigation. In a recent study, he found MLB, NBA, NFL, and NHL teams combined to fly 7.5 million kilometers in 2018, emitting close to 122,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide over the course of a normal sports year.

The 2020 experience was abnormal and revealing. If the Big Four leagues restored the scheduling changes that they introduced on health and safety grounds, Wynes estimates they'd reduce their carbon footprint by 22% - no trivial amount as the world warms and climate disasters threaten to get more extreme.

"Most fans probably wouldn't want to see the MLB 2020 season repeated, where you only got to play teams that are close by," Wynes said. "But if you think about a league during a normal season, they make a lot of trips to (distant) regions that maybe you could do without."

Wynes spoke to theScore about the climate crisis, the opportunity leagues have to help combat it, the upside of an NBA midseason tournament, and the reasons why less flying would benefit players, too. The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

theScore: What effect do carbon dioxide emissions from flights have on the environment?

Wynes: Aviation is really important for climate change because each flight makes a lot of emissions. That pollution is released high in the atmosphere. It causes more warming than pollution that is released at ground level. It's also really hard to find alternatives. We have great ideas for electric vehicles and things like that to cut pollution, but not so much for air travel. When we're talking about climate, it's a hard area to tackle.

You researched air travel in the NFL, NBA, NHL, and Major League Baseball. How much carbon dioxide does each league emit in a normal season by flying to games?

The NBA releases the most. The NHL is close behind. Hockey and basketball, they play a lot of games. Baseball also plays a lot of games, but (scheduling series) makes for a lot less traveling. The NFL has fewer emissions because the season is so short.

When did you realize that 2020 scheduling changes might affect the environment?

This was something that I'd been thinking of before the pandemic: What could leagues do to reduce their climate impact? Scheduling is one idea. Climate people think about this sort of thing, so ideas come up. What would happen if the NBA got rid of conferences for the playoffs? There are some good competitive reasons to do that, but if you're a climate person, you start thinking: Oh, that would mean a lot more travel, wouldn't it?

But that's a really minor thing. Then the pandemic comes up and all of these leagues take some strong steps to reduce travel because they're trying to keep their players (and team personnel) from getting infected. As a climate person, that makes you think: I wonder what effect that would have on their carbon footprint every year.

Baseball and hockey regionalized their schedules. In 2020, MLB teams only faced opponents in their division and the corresponding interleague division: the AL East and NL East, for example. The NHL split into four regions for division-only play. What was the climate effect?

MLB went pretty hard on that regionalization. Their emissions went down by about 20% because of that. Other leagues did a little bit less, so that number wouldn't be quite as high. It's an interesting step because it's maybe not quite as sustainable in a normal season. But if you at least do a small amount of it, it's kind of a no-brainer.

MLB is broken down into the National League and the American League, and they're not grouped by region. You could have teams play more games against teams that are close by. You could keep the National League and the American League but improve that efficiency a little bit and cut down on emissions without anyone noticing all that much.

The NHL also took after baseball by staging consecutive matchups in one city a lot more often. One reason not to do this might be to maintain variety in the schedule so that fans get to watch a new opponent each night. That said, do you think the NHL and NBA should schedule more of these miniseries?

I think there's a pretty strong argument to be made for that policy especially. You're saving a lot of travel. When you look at regionalization, that's just making trips shorter. Here, you're cutting trips altogether.

That's more carbon that you're saving, but it also means more rest for your players - fewer trips, fewer red-eye flights, fewer time-zone changes. That would have a bigger impact in terms of player health and performance. When players lose sleep, they don't play as well. They're more likely to get injured. If you do those miniseries, you're cutting back on that. I think that's something that should be investigated a lot more fully.

A lot of players might not have enjoyed (the 2020) experience because they were also stuck in hotel rooms. They're quarantining when they're doing those miniseries, and so that's kind of miserable.

But imagine doing it in 2023. You're not as worried about COVID, hopefully, at that point. Suddenly these players are like: Oh, I have an extended stay in Los Angeles. I can rest up. We can practice between games. I can go out. Maybe enjoy myself rather than: OK, I'm going to be in L.A. and then, the next day, I'm hopping on a flight to Utah, and the night after that I'm over to New York. That's exhausting.

There are financial and marketing arguments to be made for leagues playing international games. The NFL visits London every year, except for 2020, to grow its fan base there. What's the climate argument for abandoning overseas games?

I estimated that the NFL could cut emissions in their season by 8% if it eliminated international games. It's pretty big for a change that fans at home wouldn't really care about. You're trying to make those fans happy, and I don't think those fans would be too harmed by eliminating a game overseas.

There are financial reasons not to do it, and so maybe the leagues won't do it. But I think there's a good argument to be made that the climate emergency is really important. Professional sports leagues act as role models in society. Taking a stand like that would be a visible signal that they actually care.

On that note: You acknowledged in your study that Big Four sports travel accounts for less than 1% of private flight emissions and that private flight emissions account for a fraction of the global total. If these leagues cut back on flights, what's the value of that? What could that change in the grand scheme?

The importance there is largely in leading by example; setting an example in the business community; setting an example for your millions of fans. I also think that what elite members of society choose to do really matters. When we're thinking about the climate crisis and trying to solve it, it requires this rapid, large-scale societal change.

If we're going to make that big change, it's hard to imagine us doing that successfully while the wealthiest people, while the most popular and well-known people in our society, continue to act as if there's no problem. Attending international games, flying on these large, luxurious planes, that's acting as if nothing is abnormal. Whereas saying, "OK, we're going to make these big changes," that's something useful.

There's one other, smaller point I would make. There are these alternative, sustainable aviation fuels, and they're pretty expensive. A lot of businesses couldn't afford to upgrade to these fuels or pay for these credits. But we need the sector of aviation to switch over to that. A strong hope for the future is that we develop these fuels, but they're so expensive to try out.

Leagues have a lot of money. If they were really concerned about money, they would already have implemented some of these (travel cutback) policies. It's clear that they have a little bit of extra cash that they could put toward a good cause.

And so when you're saying: League emissions are only a tiny fraction of global emissions, or even aviation emissions, why do they matter? They could be part of catalyzing a bigger change by purchasing credits for these cutting-edge technologies and helping to jump-start that field. That would be another area where the leagues could have an outsize impact.

You brought up how players could benefit from playing more baseball-style series. If you're advocating for climate solutions and trying to get organizations to act with urgency, what's the importance of presenting win-win solutions - ideas that can benefit everyone involved?

Generally, it's a pretty big deal. Outside of the NBA, maybe you're talking to policy-makers about coal power plants. It's important to present the information that shutting down coal power plants would be really good for the health of people in your state or province. We're talking about less cancer, less asthma, less hospital visits.

Sometimes talking about those co-benefits can be more persuasive than talking about climate. It depends on your audience. If I was bringing this to a players' union and trying to get them on board, I'd be focusing on the data for: Look, these are the injuries that are hampering your players. You should think about backing (these scheduling changes) when you get into negotiations with the league; maybe negotiations about how long the season will be.

Going off that, the NBA has considered shortening its regular season by four games, from 82 to 78, and introducing a centralized midseason tournament. From a climate perspective, what do you think of that idea?

It's a great idea. The one thing you do have to be careful about: If you only cut a few games from the entire season, and then introduce a midseason tournament and decide to put it in Seattle, that's on the coast. It's way out of the way. You might have a backfire effect where you increase the amount of emissions. It's a little bit safer if you cut 10 games from the season, rather than, let's say, four. These policies can be tricky, and you have to think them through.

Last month, a United Nations expert panel warned that the climate crisis is intensifying. The New York Times summed up its report like this: Time's running out to avoid "a harrowing future in which floods, fires and famine displace millions, species disappear, and the planet is irreversibly damaged." The panel called on countries to act soon to reduce emissions. Are there actions we haven't covered yet that the sports world could take?

If you look outside of the four major leagues, if you want to look at climate change as being an all-hands-on-deck situation, absolutely.

Every time a tournament is scheduled, you can think about: Where are we placing this tournament so that people have to fly as little as possible to get there? Beyond aviation, you can say: We have fans coming from all over the place (to attend home games). Can we talk to people at the city and find a way to incentivize our fans taking public transit? Or maybe the best (spots) in our parking lot are all EV chargers, and you need to drive an electric vehicle to use them.

There are also ways you can communicate about climate change. You can be more vocal about it. Players, owners, and so on can take a stand, use their social media influence, and promote climate action. You see that a little bit more in Europe. There are some (soccer) teams that are intentional about taking trains instead of flights to games. Winter sports have been strong advocates because they're going to be the first affected. Downhill skiing: It's much harder to imagine a future for that sport in a warming climate.

But I would also say for the leagues we're talking about, climate change has already started to impact them. You have games that officials are considering whether to cancel because of wildfire smoke. LeBron James had to evacuate his home (in 2019) because of a wildfire.

We know these wildfires are supercharged by climate change. We're going to see more and more of that as the planet warms. It's going to become an unavoidable issue for sports.

Nick Faris is a features writer at theScore.

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This is the 12th edition of theScore's NHL Power Rankings for the 2021-22 campaign. Check back for updated rankings every second Monday during the regular season.

In this edition, we grant each team a wish ahead of the March 21 trade deadline.

1. Florida Panthers (40-13-6)

Previous rank: 4th

Win the Jakob Chychrun sweepstakes. The Panthers' defense can be suspect at times, but landing the Boca Raton native to anchor their second pairing would be a perfect match.

2. Carolina Hurricanes (41-13-5)

Previous rank: 2nd

A right-winger. The Hurricanes are set down the middle of their lineup but lack threats on the right side. They would cost a pretty penny, but there are plenty of options. Guys like Brock Boeser, Rickard Rakell, and Conor Garland are available and would make Carolina's forward group absolutely lethal.

3. Colorado Avalanche (42-13-5)

Previous rank: 1st

Claude Giroux. The Avalanche are hopeful that captain Gabriel Landeskog can return from a knee injury by playoffs, but any time without their leading goal-scorer will hurt. Picking up Giroux would surely soften the blow.

4. Calgary Flames (36-16-7)

Previous rank: 5th

Some insurance depth. The Flames have a packed schedule to close out the season, and injuries and fatigue are likely to pile up. The team is loaded throughout the lineup, but adding a couple of guys who could step up when needed could go a long way.

5. Tampa Bay Lightning (38-15-6)

Previous rank: 3rd

A physical, defensive forward. The Lightning lost their hard-checking trio of Yanni Gourde, Blake Coleman, and Barclay Goodrow last offseason. Tampa hasn't struggled much without them, but grit can go a long way in the playoffs. The Bolts can replicate that line's success by picking up a hard-nosed player who's difficult to compete against.

6. New York Rangers (37-17-5)

Previous rank: 7th

A winger who can score. The Rangers' depth on the wing is a weakness for them this season. New York controls less than 50% of the expected goals and scoring chances at five-on-five, so adding a dynamic winger who can light the lamp would help address that sore spot.

7. Pittsburgh Penguins (36-15-9)

Previous rank: 8th

A clear mind for netminder Tristan Jarry, who has rebounded spectacularly from last season's playoff catastrophe. Penguins general manager Ron Hextall sounds like he isn't rushing to make a major addition at the deadline. If he isn't actively seeking an upgrade on backup Casey DeSmith, Pittsburgh will need Jarry to continue to erase any memory of last year's mental block from his psyche.

8. Boston Bruins (36-18-5)

Previous rank: 10th

The Bruins seem to have found a recipe for success with their forward combinations at the moment, but injecting some talent couldn't hurt. Bringing in a stud center like Giroux or Tomas Hertl to anchor the team's second line would be nightmarish for playoff opponents.

9. Toronto Maple Leafs (37-17-5)

Previous rank: 6th

Goaltender Petr Mrazek proving himself this week. Both he and Jack Campbell have struggled severely this winter. Campbell is sidelined with a rib injury, and the Maple Leafs better hope Mrazek can turn things around so they can fully set their sights on bolstering their defense corps by deadline day.

10. Washington Capitals (32-18-10)

Previous rank: 13th

Land Marc-Andre Fleury and Calvin de Haan from the Blackhawks. The Capitals have two needs: a goaltender and a left-shooting defenseman. Why not kill two birds with one stone?

11. St. Louis Blues (34-17-8)

Previous rank: 9th

A top-four, left-shooting defenseman. The Blues are deep up front and have a solid tandem between the pipes, but they could use one more blue-liner to round out a top four that already features Colton Parayko, Justin Faulk, and Torey Krug.

12. Nashville Predators (34-21-4)

Previous rank: 14th

An extension for Filip Forsberg. The Predators aren't trying to move the pending UFA ahead of the deadline, so getting the Swedish sniper signed before March 21 should be Nashville's top priority.

13. Minnesota Wild (34-20-4)

Previous rank: 11th

A goaltending fix. The Wild were one of the league's hottest teams in the first half of the season, but they've stumbled lately. A big reason is Cam Talbot and Kaapo Kahkonen's instability in net. Minnesota has allowed 69 goals in its last 15 games, which isn't going to fly if it wants to be a legit Cup contender.

14. Los Angeles Kings (33-20-8)

Previous rank: 12th

Acquire a player with term. The Kings are playing surprisingly well this season but boast one of the league's deepest prospect pools. The club can take a huge step in the next year or two when some of their youngsters jump to the NHL, so acquiring a non-rental player makes the most sense.

15. Edmonton Oilers (32-23-4)

Previous rank: 15th

A starting goalie. Sure, the Oilers' options will be limited, and they'll have some competition given the number of teams in need of help in the crease. However, Edmonton needs an upgrade from Mikko Koskinen and Mike Smith.

16. Dallas Stars (32-22-3)

Previous rank: 17th

Reach a resolution with John Klingberg. Miro Heiskanen is out indefinitely, so it seems the Stars may hold onto Klingberg. Without an extension in place, it means Dallas is taking a chance at going on an unlikely playoff run and potentially losing the blue-liner for nothing in the summer. Even with Heiskanen out, it might still be worthwhile to shop him.

17. Vancouver Canucks (29-24-7)

Previous rank: 18th

A team to pony up for J.T. Miller, Brock Boeser, or Conor Garland. The Canucks don't have to trade any of them since all three have terms. But if a contender steps up with an offer centered around a promising, young defenseman, it could be highly beneficial for Vancouver's future.

18. Winnipeg Jets (27-23-10)

Previous rank: 21st

A king's ransom for Andrew Copp. The versatile Jets forward could be plugged in anywhere into a contending team's lineup and make an immediate impact. In the past two years, Blake Coleman got the Devils a top prospect and a first-round pick, and Barclay Goodrow netted the Sharks a first-round pick as well. If the Jets deal Copp, the return should be somewhere around there.

19. Vegas Golden Knights (32-25-4)

Previous rank: 16th

Injury clarifications. If Mark Stone returns from long-term injured reserve before the playoffs, the Golden Knights will need to move some money out. Robin Lehner's health could be an even bigger concern. Vegas should be in the market for a goalie if the netminder is projected to miss significant time.

20. Columbus Blue Jackets (30-27-3)

Previous rank: 20th

A deal that reaps a similar haul to last season's Nick Foligno trade. The Blue Jackets ran away with the Maple Leafs' 2021 first-round pick and a fourth-round selection in 2022 in exchange for the veteran's services. Columbus has quite a few players who could be on the move.

21. Anaheim Ducks (27-25-10)

Previous rank: 19th

Massive hauls for Hampus Lindholm, Josh Manson, and Rakell. The Ducks aren't far from contending again, and fetching huge returns for pending UFAs will speed up the rebuild. Ideally, they could bring one of them back this summer in free agency.

22. San Jose Sharks (26-25-7)

Previous rank: 23rd

A team-friendly extension for Hertl. The pending UFA forward would've been the Sharks' only high-end trade chip, but they're looking to lock him up instead. Anything under $8 million per season would be a huge win for San Jose.

23. New York Islanders (24-24-8)

Previous rank: 24th

A strong market for Semyon Varlamov. Ilya Sorokin has established himself as the Islanders' goalie of the present and future. Dealing Varlamov could net some valuable assets and create much-needed cap space for next season.

24. Detroit Red Wings (24-28-7)

Previous rank: 22nd

A team to overpay for Nick Leddy. Veteran defensemen like Leddy are always a hot commodity come deadline time. A first-round pick may be greedy, but a second-rounder and promising prospect would be a nice return for the Red Wings.

25. Chicago Blackhawks (22-30-8)

Previous rank: 26th

For Fleury to expand his list of teams he'd be willing to accept a trade to. The veteran netminder has a 10-team no-trade list in his contract, but all reports have indicated that Chicago won't move him somewhere he doesn't want to go. However, the more clubs Fleury is willing to play for, the more the Blackhawks will receive for the 37-year-old.

26. New Jersey Devils (22-32-5)

Previous rank: 27th

A trade partner for P.K. Subban. The Devils aren't looking to extend the pending unrestricted free-agent defenseman. New Jersey will likely have to retain some of his $9-million cap hit in any deal, but it might not have to lose him for nothing.

27. Ottawa Senators (21-32-5)

Previous rank: 25th

Determine Erik Brannstrom and Victor Mete's futures. The young defensemen are pending RFAs, so the clock isn't ticking yet. However, now could be a good time to trade one or both of the blue-liners if the Senators don't see them being a part of the team's future.

28. Buffalo Sabres (20-32-8)

Previous rank: 29th

Load up on even more draft picks. The Sabres have three selections in the opening round of this year's draft, but they likely won't be able to add another with who they can offer in trades. Colin Miller is Buffalo's most attractive option, but overall it doesn't have many rentals who would fetch much more than middle-round picks.

29. Montreal Canadiens (16-35-8)

Previous rank: 31st

A hungry market for Ben Chiarot. The Canadiens are reportedly looking to land, at the very least, a first-round draft pick for the sturdy defenseman, but teams are apparently not as willing to put up their assets as much as they've been in the past. Habs fans can only hope the deadline pressure makes an opposing GM give in.

30. Philadelphia Flyers (18-30-11)

Previous rank: 28th

A nice landing spot for Giroux. The Flyers are spiraling. The best thing the team can do for their beloved captain is to send him to a contender, hopefully after he plays his 1,000th game with the franchise, which he can do on March 17. Of course, Philadelphia should also wish it'll net an excellent return for his services.

31. Arizona Coyotes (18-36-4)

Previous rank: 32nd

A healthy Chychrun. The young defenseman exited Saturday's contest against the Bruins with a lower-body injury. The Coyotes better keep their fingers crossed that their most coveted trade piece isn't seriously harmed.

32. Seattle Kraken (18-37-6)

Previous rank: 30th

A bidding war for Mark Giordano. The Kraken's farm system is obviously weak given their brief existence, so GM Ron Francis needs to get some promising futures for his most valuable rental asset.

(Analytics sources: Evolving Hockey, Natural Stat Trick)

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Toronto Maple Leafs superstar Auston Matthews will have a hearing with the NHL Department of Player Safety on Monday for cross-checking Buffalo Sabres defenseman Rasmus Dahlin during Sunday's Heritage Classic.

Matthews caught Dahlin in the neck area with a cross-check as the two players battled in the Buffalo crease.

"You're just battling in front of the net," Matthews said postgame, according to ESPN's Kristen Shilton. "I felt like I kind of rode up his shoulder and his shoulder pack rolled up a little bit. That's hockey; you're competing out there."

Matthews has never been fined or suspended over his six-year career and was a finalist for the Lady Byng Trophy in each of the past two campaigns. He leads the NHL with 45 goals in 56 games this season.

Dahlin, who leads all Sabres defensemen with 37 points in 58 games this season, remained in the contest.

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